In recent months, we've shared with you
information about the controversial ingredients in aftershave, anti-aging cream,
shampoo, antibacterial soap, lotion and lipstick. Name any type of
personal care product, and the same concerns pop: controversial ingredients -
sometimes unlabeled - linked to cancer, infertility and other health
effects, and ingredients that have never been tested for safety.

And it's perfectly legal.

The FDA is in charge of cosmetics, but it
doesn't have the same regulatory authority over these products that it
has over pharmaceuticals, medical devices and foods. Instead, the $50
billion cosmetics industry regulates itself through its industry-funded
Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel. The cosmetics industry is one of the
least-regulated industries in this country - and the cosmetics industry
has been fighting to keep it that way.

Right now, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce
Health Subcommittee is drafting a bill that would overhaul food, drug
and cosmetic safety, but the current cosmetics provision isn't as strong
as it should be.

We need your help reaching the committee
chairman, U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), and the subcommittee members!
Sign our online petition telling them that you support strong health and
safety standards for cosmetics. It shouldn't be left up to consumers or
the cosmetics industry to figure out what's safe and what's not.

Environmental
Working Group, a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics,
just released a consumer
guide for avoiding triclosan, an ingredient common in liquid
hand soap, toothpaste and other cosmetics and consumer products.
Triclosan is a hormone disruptor that can end up in breast milk and
poses potential danger to fetal and childhood development. A recent
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics action
alert targeted triclosan, which isn't any better than plain
soap and water at preventing the spread of infections.

Check out the growing list of companies that have signed the
Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a
commitment to make personal care products free of carcinogens, mutagens
and reproductive toxins. You can also use
Skin Deep to find safer alternatives.